Kim Nam-ji closed his eyes briefly, and the rain poured down.
Lightning flashed and thunder roared outside the window.
Yin Jiayi had been standing here for a long time after returning home.
The boy knocked on the door from the outside: "Sis, what are you doing? Auntie asked me to call you out for dinner."
When Yin Jiayi returned, she seemed to have lost her soul. She ignored everyone who called her and locked herself in her room.
The boy knocked on the door a few more times: "Sis, sis? Are you alright?"
Before he could finish speaking, Yin Jiayi opened the door from the inside and rushed past him like a gust of wind.
Yin Jiayi ran a few steps, then turned back into the room to get an umbrella. When her mother saw her go straight out the door, she followed behind and called out to her.
"Hey, Jiayi, it's almost time to eat. It's raining so hard outside, where are you going?"
Yin Jiayi ran downstairs in one breath, holding an umbrella, looking around for her figure, but there was no one there.
Just now, just now, she was definitely here.
"Namji, Namji, where are you?"
"Nam Ji, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please come out... come out... see me one more time, okay?"
She screamed her name at the top of her lungs, threw down her umbrella, and the rain poured down on her face, trickling down her cheeks.
She could finally let loose and have a good cry.
Kim Nam-ji ran aimlessly, not knowing how far she had gone. She had only one thought in her mind: to escape from this place, to escape this place that made her so sad and heartbroken that she felt like she was suffocating.
Exhausted, he fell heavily to the ground, the phone he was holding slipped from his hand, and the screen lit up.
Kim Nam-ji got up and saw that it was Coach Park calling. She knelt in the water and pressed the call button. The moment she heard his familiar voice, she couldn't help but burst into tears.
"Namji, go home."
The first thing Kim Nam-ji did after getting into the taxi was to block all of Yoon Ga-yi's contact information while crying. In the end, he simply took out the SIM card and threw it out the window along with the phone.
Yin Jiayi stood downstairs for a long time that day, and was finally pulled back by her family. As soon as she entered the house, she fainted. When her mother touched her forehead, it was burning hot, so she quickly took her to the hospital.
From that day on, she fell seriously ill and stayed in the hospital for a long time. All her indicators were normal, but she just couldn't get better. Even the doctor said that she had a mental illness.
On the seventh day of her hospitalization, she received a package from South Korea. Inside were photographic negatives and a floppy disk. Park Min-heon kept his promise. Yoon Ga-yi burned all of these things. Watching the flames rise, she both cried and laughed.
Just then, Yin's mother came to the hospital to deliver food. When she opened the ward door, she saw Yin burning something in the room. She was immediately terrified and broke out in a cold sweat. She rushed over, stomped out the flames, and hugged Yin, tears streaming down her face.
"Jiayi, don't scare your mother. She looks like she's lost her soul since she came back from Beijing."
Yin Jiayi came to her senses, choked back tears, and wiped away her tears: "Mom, I'm fine, I'm fine... Let's go home."
After returning home, Yin's family was afraid of upsetting her, so they didn't dare to ask her about her future plans or when she would find a job. She just drifted through life in a daze.
One day in late July, while listening to the cicadas chirping outside her window, she suddenly turned around and asked, "What's the date today?"
Mrs. Yin flipped the calendar up: "It's July 28th."
Yin Jiayi muttered to herself, "Oh, it's the 28th. Today is the first match of the women's singles. Yes, the first match. Mom, where's my phone?"
Seeing that she was getting anxious and her tone was getting faster, Yin's mother quickly handed her her phone.
"It's here."
Although she hasn't said anything these days, her mother can more or less sense it. After all, she has only brought that one girl home in all these years, and seeing that she wants to make a phone call, she can't help but feel a little worried.
"Jiayi, since it's already..."
Yin Jiayi forced a smile and looked at her.
"Mom, don't worry, I... I'll call my friend."
Yin Jiayi contacted several friends before finally finding someone willing to help her deliver the items.
"Hey, it's inconvenient for me to buy things in China. Could you please deliver a bouquet of violets to the Korean team's locker room for me?"
"Okay, how should I sign my name?"
Yin Jiayi thought for a moment.
"Just... Kim Nam-ji is an ordinary fan. I hope she... does well in the game."
***
In today's first women's singles match at the Olympics, Kim Nam-ji hadn't even finished her makeup when she chased away the makeup artist and locked herself in the dressing room. Park Min-heon was worried about her and, seeing that the match was about to start, came over and knocked on the door.
Kim Nam-ji stared at herself in the mirror, feeling somewhat unfamiliar. She couldn't quite put her finger on what had changed, but it certainly seemed different from before.
When the makeup artist styled her, she stuck to the old style and wanted to make her look energetic and cute.
Kim Namji felt inexplicably annoyed and swatted the powder compact away from her hand, telling her to get lost.
The makeup artist ran out with red eyes, and the rest of the people looked at each other, observing each other's expressions, and then withdrew, leaving her alone.
Kim Nam-ji smiled at the mirror, but the innocent and bright light in her eyes completely disappeared, and her expression suddenly became somewhat deep and gloomy.
She heard Coach Park urging her from outside, but instead of rushing out, she took the ring off her finger. She initially intended to throw it directly into the trash can, but after thinking about it, she found a silver chain in the jewelry box next to her, strung it on, and hung it around her neck.
Kim Namji opened the door, and Park Minheon breathed a sigh of relief. Namji's temper was unpredictable these days, and sometimes he couldn't figure out what she was thinking.
"Let's go, the match is about to start. The audience is waiting for you. Look, fans have been bringing flowers and gifts since early this morning. Even though it's an away game, our Nanzhi is still very popular."
The corridor outside the lounge was piled with all kinds of flowers, as well as plush toys given by fans.
Kim Nam-ji didn't even glance at it before walking past the basket of violets, letting out a cold snort.
"What's the use? Just take it out and throw it away."
Finally, Park Min-heon noticed the ring hanging around her neck: "My God, this is a global live broadcast! Didn't I tell you to throw it away already?! You're still wearing it? Have you forgotten how she treated you?!"
Kim Nam-ji sneered.
"Coach Park, I want to keep it so that it will constantly remind me and sting me that I absolutely cannot lose, especially not to the Chinese team."
Chapter 102 Returning Home
The badminton tournament format at this year's Olympics has undergone significant changes compared to previous years, with the addition of a group stage. The world's top 16 ranked players are seeded and placed into 16 different groups, avoiding the possibility of upsets before the semifinals. However, this also means a much longer overall schedule and a very dense schedule, adding extra physical burden to the players. [1]
When the Badminton World Federation announced the change in the tournament format, Wan Jing breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that Xie Shi'an would not have to face Kim Nam-ji, a formidable opponent, in the first round of the group stage.
The first day of the competition went smoothly, with both sides coexisting peacefully.
Xie Shi'an played two matches in one day and won both.
At the same time, Kim Nam-ji also finished the match, and their images and scores were displayed on the big screen, both showing 2:0.
The stadium erupted in enthusiastic applause.
Jian Changnian was the first to rush up and hug her, but someone blocked her with a racket: "What are you doing? You're all sweaty and sticky."
Jian Changnian laughed somewhat carefree.
"This is to celebrate your first victory in the Olympics."
Xie Shi'an smiled slightly and tossed her his golf bag: "Here you go. It's just two group stage wins, what's there to be happy about? I'm hungry, let's go eat."
Her bag contained two rackets, two pairs of shoes, several quick-drying shirts, a bunch of grip tape, and three bottles of water—her standard equipment for going out to play matches. It was as heavy as a bomb.
It was thrown over suddenly, and Jian Changnian's waist almost broke. She was holding hers and carrying her own, and she stumbled and fell as she ran.
"Hey, wait for me! So I came to London to be your lackey!"
"Isn't this obvious?"
"I'm an entourage member, not a lackey!!!"
"attendant."
"I already said I'm not a lackey!!!"
"A lackey." Xie Shi'an shrugged nonchalantly.
Jian Changnian was furious. Dragging two enormous, heavy bags, he huffed and puffed as he chased after her, letting out a long howl.
"Xie Shi'an, I'm going to call Coach Yan and tell him you bullied me!!!"
Watching Xie Shi'an and his group leave the venue, Park Min-heon's gaze was thoughtful. This is really troublesome. After defeating Yin Jiayi, Xie Shi'an has appeared. According to the current competition system, although she and Nan Zhi will not meet in the group stage, it is only a matter of time before they enter the finals.
No matter what, he must win this precious gold medal for Nam Ji and for the South Korean team.
Time flies, especially during matches. In the blink of an eye, the group stage was over. Xie Shian and Jin Nanzhi both advanced to the women's singles round of 16 with a perfect record in the group stage.
She plays matches during the day and trains at night. Under such high-intensity training, Xie Shi'an returns to her room every day with a sore back and aching waist. She lies on the bed, too weak to move.
"Bean sprout, come and give me a shoulder massage."
Jian Changnian was not only an accomplice, but also a follower and a sparring partner. She had just returned from the training room with her and hadn't even had a chance to sit down properly.
"Hey, who are you calling? I'm tired too, let the team doctor stretch you up."
Xie Shi'an buried his head in the pillow and drawled out his words.
"Ugh, I don't want to get up again. The bed is so soft, I keep thinking about it..."
"..."
Just talk, can you please stop acting all cutesy?!
Jian Changnian felt awkward and struggled internally for a while. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. Her chance had come. She rubbed her hands together and climbed onto the bed, intending to give her a taste of the Nine Yin White Bone Claw and let her know how treacherous the world was and that she was not someone to be trifled with.
As she thought this, Xie Shi'an glanced at her when her hand landed on her back. Her dark pupils seemed particularly gentle in the dim light, and there was a hint of a smile in her voice.
"It's the area below my shoulder and my waist. I don't know if I twisted it during the competition today. It hurts a lot."
When their eyes met, Jian Changnian unconsciously slowed down his strength.
Is this okay?
"Hiss..." Xie Shi'an frowned, wondering if it was just scratching the surface and making her feel a little uncomfortable.
"Let me take off my clothes, and then you can put on a plaster for me."
She took off her short-sleeved shirt, revealing only a sports bra underneath, showcasing her beautiful figure. Her back muscles were firm and graceful, and she had a narrow waist and defined abs that extended all the way to her hips.
Her skin was very fair, and under the light it had a jade-like texture.